Page 91 of Her Second-Hand Mate

“If I'd known you’d be this happy, I would have invited Theresa to visit us ages ago,” he teased, but I could sense how happy my happiness was making him, and it was a beautiful thing to behold.

I gave him a quick kiss on the lips and ran to the front door while he went to grab Gabriel from his floor blanket.

“Theresa!” I screamed as I opened the door, but instead of the shouts of my rambunctious cousin, I was quietly greeted by a demure-looking Theresa holding Theo’s hand.

“Hi, cuz,” she smiled, but it was all wrong.

I looked at their joined hands, and Theo puffed out his chest before informing me, “Theresa is my mate.”

“I’m so happy for you both!” I clapped my hands.

Dominic opened the door further and invited them both to come in. I looked at my cousin questioningly but she just shook her head almost imperceptibly. Huh. I couldn’t wait to discuss the details of her mating with her.

If I was being honest with myself, I’d secretly dreamed about her being Anthony’s mate. I just had the feeling they would make a good match. But on the bright side, with Theo as her mate, we’dalways stay in the same pack. My heart felt a size bigger at the thought, although one sniff of the tension in the room deflated it.

The new mates sat on the couch next to each other very awkwardly. It reminded me of Dominic and I in those first days, and brought back the memory of that uncertainty and unease.

“How was the flight?” Dominic asked when he saw no one else was going to speak.

“It was good,” Theresa responded.

That was it. Good. What had happened to my cousin?

“Are you going to stay with us or with Theo?”

“She’ll stay here,” Theo said, and Dominic frowned.

His eyes briefly glazed over, and I realized he was mind-linking him. Theresa’s knuckles were white from how hard she was gripping the skirt of her long dress.

“Could you show me to the bathroom, please?” she asked me, and I led her up the stairs.

When we were far enough not to be overheard, I whispered to her, “What is wrong with you? Why are you being weird?”

She leaned her back against the wall and pressed her palms to her cheeks.

“Oh, Lord. Penelope. I just...” she shook her head. “So, he picked me up at the airport, right? As soon as I smelled him, I lost my mind, and then he was kissing me, and he was being kind of aggressive, and then I got in my head about not knowing what I was doing, so I tried talking to him a bit.”

“And?” I prompted when she fell silent.

“When he told me his name and rank, I remembered him from your letters. I remembered you telling me that he was particular about the kind of mate he wanted, and I just...” she trailed off.

“Oh, Theresa, I am so sorry. This is all my fault. Me and my big mouth,” I put a hand over said mouth.

I felt awful as I pulled her into a hug.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me; I’m never like this. I hate feeling insecure like this. Is this what some wolves feel like all the time? It’s the worst!” she cried into my shoulder.

“Give it time, okay? Spend a few afternoons together, get to know each other, you’re mates, you know it’s gonna be fine.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I just wish I had made a better first impression. If only for the story I’ll be telling our pups,” she smiled. I felt a tiny pang of sadness when I remembered my own story about meeting my mate. But the pang was much smaller than it used to be, and it passed quickly.

???

“So, what is he like?” Theresa asked Dominic.

He shrugged, “He’s okay.”

“I mean, what does he like to do?”

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